What we mean when we talk about confronting privilege

Calling someone a racist is more disturbing to the mainstream than actual institutional racism. Short of witnessing a lynching, there is always some way to explain away race bias. So it goes, too, with privilege.

Talking about white privilege is no more racist than talking about the privileges of the able-bodied is ablist or talking about male privilege is sexist. It is a recognition of the social hierarchy that is our culture.

– Acknowleging that a quality you possess offers an advantage over others. (That quality is often unearned like race, gender, sexuality, etc., rendering the advantage unfair)

– Recognizing the unique opportunities and successes that your privilege has afforded you

– Exploring how the less privileged are marginalized

– Working to mitigate the marginalization of the less privileged where you can

Confronting privilege is an ongoing exercise, requiring learning, self-reflection and empathy. It is a struggle to be vigilant against something that we are often completely blind to. But isn’t the struggle worth it?

That is a question that thoroughly baffles me. And it does appear that many of the promoters of such distortion are among the evangelical Christian right. I shake my head in amazement; morality has been abandoned.